In his office on the top floor of the Town Hall Building, the mayor of Coquimbo Ali Manouchehri receives us. It is a place full of gifts and souvenirs from other communities, from residents of the port and from authorities.
It is Sunday and the civic-military parade in honor of the 157th anniversary of the commune has just ended. After two hours in a sunny English Quarter and after agreeing to take photos with dozens of Coquimbanos who are waiting for him at the end of the ceremony, Manouchehri’s work is not over. He, along with his team, coordinates some actions for this Monday and evaluates what the parade was like.
– What are the main challenges for Coquimbo in the coming years?
“We have always stated that it is very nice to have the opportunity to be mayor of this commune, but it is also a responsibility to be able to make the transformations that this commune deserves and needs. We have raised several initiatives in these 3 years with an emphasis on 2024 that will allow the first transformations of the Coquimbo of tomorrow. We will have one of the best centers in Chile, a wonderful pedestrian promenade, we already have a first-class auditorium for the community and we are working on the Parque de La Infancia. We also have a very strong policy for older adults with a line focused on services and well-being. But we also want to bring development to all sectors like Tierras Blancas, improve the streets and have a prettier, more accessible and inclusive city.”
– These 3 years of management have been complex, with a gigantic debt. How do you work to make these transformations?
“We are professionals and very responsible when it comes to managing the funds of all Coquimbanos and Coquimbanas. For this reason, we made the determination, when we entered this municipality, to clean up its debts, to regain the trust of suppliers and neighbors and for people to believe in the municipality again and that has allowed us to pay more than $27,000 million in a deficit of $40 billion. This has allowed us to have a sufficient amount of resources to carry out the first transformations that citizens already know. We have always analyzed that 2024 will be the kickoff for the coming years and position Coquimbo as the best city in northern Chile.”
– You always say that people are tired of promises. Is it possible to turn Coquimbo into the best city in northern Chile?
“A few years ago the comparison with the commune of La Serena was something that hurt us Coquimbas a lot and it seemed very far away to have a city that was prettier and cleaner than the neighbors and today it is a reality. We have an orderly, beautiful commune, with controlled street commerce and with completely renovated green areas in the first stage. We intend that just as we committed to making Coquimbo the most important commune in this region and we achieved it, we are going to position Coquimbo as the most important commune in northern Chile.”
-But this management is also in debt with certain things. There are sectors that feel abandoned…
“One of the things that has generally affected the Coquimbo commune the most is the centralism that can occur at the national and local level. We have tried, through a communal policy, to cover with financing lines every last corner of this beautiful commune. For this reason, we are bringing nearly $3,000 million of investment to Tongoy. We are also investing in making spas like Guanaqueros more beautiful every day. We are bringing squares and green areas to rural sectors that often did not have sufficient investments to improve the quality of life.
Of course, it is still impossible for us to cover all the needs of the territory. What we are clear about is that the path we have outlined will allow us not only to improve the central areas of this commune, but also to improve the quality of life of all those who live in Coquimbo.
-Various crimes of high social connotation have occurred in Coquimbo and although public spaces have been recovered, the feeling of insecurity is growing…
“What worries us most is often the ease with which some political actors talk about security, as if there were a magic key to solve it. Chile is going through a complicated situation and the municipalities’ hands are tied by legal regulations. Our municipal inspectors do not have the necessary tools or the legal powers to be able to make the necessary interventions in the territory. For some reason we have become an active collaborator with the police and we have also been a management that has sought to provide better tools to the Carabineros of Chile.”
– Are you also going to work with the community to avoid risk factors such as the entry of drug trafficking into the populations?
“What we have to do is hit crime hard and have the ability to turn off the key and accompany our young people, boys and girls of the commune. For this reason, we have created sports plans such as Champions for Coquimbo with free schools in different branches of soccer, basketball, taekwondo, tennis and table tennis, which we intend to continue expanding. “We want to bring sports and healthy living to the last corner of this commune.”
– As soon as he took office, he filed a complaint against former mayor Marcelo Pereira for embezzlement of public funds and fraud against the treasury, which, however, has made no progress. What do you think?
“People’s trust in institutions has been lost and I think it is very dangerous when that type of thing happens, because we have become accustomed to being a society that puts everyone in the same bag. For this reason, I believe that in order for citizens to regain confidence, it is necessary that the records that were delivered to the Prosecutor’s Office with the atrocities that were committed during the period of former mayor Marcelo Pereira can have a prompt resolution.”
-How difficult was it to consider re-election?
“There is always a very great wear and tear in family terms. I am a very absent father in raising my children. I am fortunate to have a wife who has fulfilled the role of mother and father, I have a 1-year-old son and a 3-year-old son who, without a doubt, need their father. But in these types of decisions, we consider that if we have made so much progress, with 4 more years we can complete this work, despite the costs.”
– Have you also planned a bigger political future?
“I am a lover of Coquimbo, I love my city, I love its people and I took on this challenge because I believe and am convinced that I have the capabilities and leadership to be able to make this commune a much better place. “I also cannot close myself to any possibility, but I would like to be able to close this cycle in Coquimbo by writing one of the most important chapters in its history.”
